31 October 2013

Halloween is my absolute favourite time of the year, Christmas comes a close second but nothing beats Halloween. Not even *gasp* my birthday. I'm currently having a beautiful time in Paris eating one to many chocolates (probably) and baguettes. I couldn't let my favourite time of year pass by without doing anything so I decided to celebrate a few days before.

29 October 2013

Veil are a camouflage make-up company who specialise in creating a range of high coverage cover cream. Originally formulated in 1952 to help people cover post operative scarring.

The kit is available for £40.64 and contains 20 shades including a finishing powder. A range of shades are included in the kit including skin shades, white (so you can custom match) and correcting shades (red, green, purple, yellow)

The creams are super creamy, pigmented and almost mousse like in texture.

To see how well these were at covering up I decided to have a go at covering my mums tattoo, and it worked incredibly well (totally forgot to photograph it, was to excited to try it out!)

I decided to start with a correcting shade such as the yellow or red to cancel at the black of the tattoo and so the whole area was one shade and then went in with covering it with a skin shade tone. I find if you work in thin, blended out layers and allow it to dry between each layer it works very well and much easier to apply. I love how light these creams are yet they're so pigmented you literally need the tiniest amount for each use.

People with all types of skin concerns use these such as birth marks, acne, rosacea, darkness and so on.

I would highly recommend trying these out, a sample kit is available for £6.50 so you can try it out before purchasing a full size.

27 October 2013

What with Halloween & Day of the dead approaching Wahaca created a fun recipe challenge for bloggers, and I couldn't wait to try out their sauces and taste some yummy mexican inspired food.

I decided to pick up some chicken and marinade it in the smoky chipotle chilli sauce before popping it in a griddle pan to get a nice grilled taste and effect. The sauce caramelised as you cook and you're left with yummy covered spicy chicken. I'll tell you now, this sauce is so so tasty. If you want extra flavour (even though this sauce defiinitely kicks some punch) then you could leave the chicken in the marinade for a couple of hours or over night but I totally forgot to do it before cooking.

I like hot food but not too hot, it's described as a 'medium heat'. This sauce is perfection. As the name suggests 'smoky' it almost tastes like a smoky bbq sauce, but as you taste it you taste the chilli and chipotle puree and leaves you with a slight heat in your throat, but not one that makes you run for some milk. One plus is its 100% natural, containing no nasty stuff.

I decided to use the chicken in some tacos, everyone loves tacos! They're so easy to serve & just pick up and enjoy I thought they'd work well. Along with the chicken I added some jalopenos (for the brave who want extra heat), spinach, tomatoes and mushrooms.

I loved this sauce so much you could even have some on the side to dip your tacos in. You can also use this sauce to add something extra to stews, sauces, burgers and what ever you fancy.

I love these sauces and will definitely be using these to add something extra to plainer meals in the future.

26 October 2013

So, I finally popped along to my first blogging event, what with always being on days I can't make I was excited to finally go to one- and oh it was rather alot of fun. I was invited along by Ax Paris to have a peek at their A/W advert and browse the beautiful dresses (so so many I want to pick up for Christmas) There was lots of sparkle, sequins, lace and sheer fabric, all of which equal perfection to me when it comes to a dress, especially for the festive season.

I went along with Islay & Ashleigh and also bumped into Lauren and Kayla. The event was hosted at Proud Cabaret in Tower Hill which is a cabaret/burlesque club, with the walls packed full of mirrors as you descend down the stairs into a dark, beautifully decorated room full of candelabra and beautiful 40's inspired lamps and lights. I absolutely love the 40's, 50's burlesque but I've never actually seen a burlesque show, so that was rather fun. There was also a man who performed in between acts, which I totally forgot his name who was rather amusing singing he's songs and walking around the club.

We also got to take a peek at the dresses on fellow bloggers and the beautiful Jade Thompson was also there to give a little speech about filming the television advert. Of course there was a photobooth, which obviously we couldn't pass up. On went the top hat and moustache and lots of fun was had. I particularly like the ones where we're totally un-ready such as when Ashleigh & I swapped hats.

I had so much fun, and really can't wait to go to another event! Big thank you to Etail & Ax Paris for inviting me!

11 October 2013

Finally, a post with two of my new favourite items I recently picked up; the -zara dupe- and Asos polka dot flatforms. I tried on the Zara jacket in August because I was in one of those 'Can It please be winter now, I want to buy a winter coat' moods, I resisted at the price tag and left it. I was so happy when I saw this on Choies' website for alot less. I would highly recommend sizing down a few sizes if you get the Choies or the Zara one (an extra small fit me just right in Zara) but this was the smallest size Choies do and it's just right, possibly a teeny weeny bit bigger as I hate swamping coats.

I also managed to hunt down the Asos flatforms on EBay which have never been worn, woo. They were in the sale ages ago and I never picked them up and I absolutely love them so much. And plus side, they may not be as comfy as the converse but they are so so easy to walk in because they're all just one level. I also seem to be having a bit of a polka dot moment recently, even the nails got polka dotted.

And, as if I need anymore hats... I couldn't resist this one from Primark, It's just the right size up from a bowler, yay.

I never used to be a 'bright' lipstick wearer. If I ever wore any it would be a tinted lip balm or the nudest of pinks, the 'my lips but better' scenario. Alas, I'm breaching out after becoming obsessed with 40's/50's style (red lippy, a la Marilyn Monroe) and trying some different shades and I've actually been liking it. Even though I never used to wear many bright lipsticks, I certainly had a few kicking about in my makeup drawer. I apologise now for including 2 limited edition Macs, it's so annoying not being able to pick it up but they may be re-released!

(What Joy!) was from a Christmas collection a couple of years ago and Love Goddess was from a Marilyn Monroe collection some time last year (my favourite ever pink and packaging) Love Goddess is more of a pink but I thought I'd throw it in as I absolutely love it. I also included 'What Joy' which is the perfect winter berry dark lipstick which I seriously cannot wait to wear in the colder months.

I also included the Deborah Milano lipstick in #11 which I have a post on here. It's great if like me you want to ease yourself into a brighter shade of lipstick slowly as it's more sheer and also has a gorgeous glitter running through (images on that post!)

The L'oreal studio secrets in '650 red' is such a good, true red. Along with the Kate Moss x Rimmel lipstick which is a little but darker, another perfect winter shade. I actually received the L'oreal lipstick from EastEnd cosmetics which for 30 years has been offering branded cosmetics, perfume and toiletries and reduced prices including Maybelline Babylips, Apocolips, L'oreal and Bourjois. Definitely worth having a peek as they have current stock which are in 'drugstores' now for a little bit less, always a bonus if you can save a few pennies. I also have a discount code for my lovely readers on my sidebar to the right.